At Your Service
Harry Kaufman is a professional NYC bartender who has worked in the industry for years. From sports bars to high-end cocktail lounges, he spreads his love for detail oriented service and consistent, creative drinks. He founded Cocktail Legion to embrace the history and culture of American drinking and combine it with good fundamentals of bartending technique.
My Story
The best part of being a bartender is that by investing in the craft, you participate in a unique culture. People have been drinking for a while, but cocktails are rather new and distinctly American. I dove into the bartending scene in NYC working at sports bars (Campeón, Cherry Tavern) and jazz clubs (Zinc), to high end whiskey bars (Maysville) and restaurants (Emporio, Mekki) to some of the best cocktail lounges in the city (The Up & Up, Analogue) After years of working on the inside, and from traveling to explore what other cities and countries have to offer—namely Chicago, London, and Tokyo—I began to see a missing piece of the puzzle that I wanted to take part in.
Emporio NYC
Virtual Cocktail Class
Sponsored by Q Tonic
I saw people extremely curious and interested in cocktails and how they work, but they had no idea where to start. At Maysville I loved to take people through personalized tasting sessions, so I wanted to bring that to cocktails in general. There are plenty of quality classes out there that get you excited about crazy smoked cocktails and centrifuged juices, nitro muddling and forced carbonation, but I wanted to get people excited about the fundamentals, and work with them from there. You can get into some really cool cocktail chemistry just by learning a thing or two about the Old Fashioned, so that’s where we start. I hope you’ll join me on this journey, and feel free to reach out to me at harry@cocktaillegion.com with any questions.
Favorite Drinks
Drink #1: The Old Fashioned
As it’s one of the most versatile drinks, and it's the original cocktail, I’ll drink an old fashioned any day of the week. Bitters, sugar, water, and spirit are all that the recipe calls for, so that means Old Fashioneds, Manhattans, Martinis, Sazeracs, Vieux Carrés all count in this category. Is it cheating then to say it’s my favorite? Heck no! It’s the best cocktail; you get to put all of your own flair into it. That’s why it’s the first one you learn!
Drink #2: Daiquiri
Getting the dilution right is one of the most frustrating things when you’re just starting out. Our second cocktail class is usually the Daiquiri so we can address it. Making a good daiquiri is simple. Making a great daiquiri is difficult. That’s why I love it. It’s also a great template for experimentation in a different way than the Old Fashioned. The daiquiri beats out the sour because it specifies Rum, a comparatively under-appreciated spirit.